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The purpose of this dissertation was to add to the professional literature in
counselor education and supervision through inquiry and synthesis of research among
online teaching, online counseling, and online communities of practice through the
supervision lens of the Discrimination Model. A unique, research-informed framework
for synchronous online supervision (i.e., cybersupervision) was developed out of this
research with the purpose of guiding supervisors to utilize specific strategies to mitigate
technology and interpersonal barriers that interfere with social presence and the process
of cybersupervision. By utilizing a research-informed framework, supervisors can
optimize the conditions for counselor skill development during cybersupervision.
To address the gap in current research on the impact of barriers on social presence
during cybersupervision, a Likert-type survey was administered to assess the association
between the level of social presence (i.e., engagement) and hindering phenomena (i.e.,
technology and interpersonal barriers) among counselor supervisees who experienced
cybersupervision as a part of their graduate training. The survey measured supervisees’
(N = 12) social presence with the Igroup Presence Questionnaire, which included three
subscales that measured spatial presence, involvement, and experienced realness. Barriers
were measured using the Supervision Hindering Phenomena Survey, which included two
subscales that measured pure technology barriers and interpersonal barriers.
Respondents’ scores were summed and disaggregated through a split-half median
process to determine the levels (i.e., low or high) of experienced barriers and social
presence which were used in 2 x 2 tables to test for associations. Analysis from chi-square,
Mantel-Haenszel chi-square, and Fisher’s Exact tests indicated that there was an
equally significant association between both experienced realness and pure technology, χ2
(1, N = 12) = .046, p < .05, φ = -.577, indicating a weak, negative correlation. Since pure
technology and interpersonal barriers were indistinguishable for this sample, ancillary
analysis revealed that there was a significant association between experienced realness
and overall (i.e., combined pure technology and interpersonal barriers) hindering
phenomena with a χ2 (1, N = 12) = .018, p < .05, φ = -.683 and a Mantel-Haenszel chi-square
(1, N = 12) = .024, p < .05, φ = -.683, indicating a strong, negative correlation. A two-sided
Fisher’s Exact test Pr < = P = .018 with a 95% odds ratio and relative risks
confidence interval of [0.07, 0.75] supports these results.
Ancillary factor analysis with orthogonal rotation revealed that five subscales
clustered into two distinct factors: telepresence and hindering phenomena, thus providing
validation evidence for both the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (α = .895) and the
Supervision Hindering Phenomena Survey (α = .740).
Results from this study, combined with the research-informed framework for
cybersupervision, form a foundation upon which future research on cybersupervision,
social presence, and hindering phenomena may be developed in order to continue to
understand and refine this growing practice in counselor education and supervision.